Retail stores and pharmacies in Yunlin County donate diapers to health facility

PUBLIC CARE:A facility in Douliou for patients in a vegetative state needs about 130,000 diapers and 1,000 cans of milk powder per year, a foundation said

By Huang Shu-li and Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Workers from Yunlin County’s 61 FamilyMart convenience stores launch a charity campaign on Tuesday, calling on the public to donate adult diapers to the Genesis Social Welfare Foundation’s branch in Yunlin’s Douliou City.

Photo: Huang Shu-li, Taipei Times

FamilyMart outlets in Yunlin County have joined hands with local pharmacies to launch a “diaper donation campaign” to help a facility housing patients in a vegetative state.

People can donate adult diapers to the Genesis Social Welfare Foundation’s Douliou Branch by purchasing the product at the 61 Yunlin branches of Taiwan FamilyMart Co, the nation’s second-largest convenience store operator, which will deliver the diapers to the facility.

Aside from the designated convenience stores, the service is also available at a number of pharmacies in Yunlin, including MedFirst Healthcare Services, Fun Ling Pharmacy, Sun Hao Drugstore and Wellcare Pharmacy.

The campaign was initiated by Lin Yu-sheng (林育生), director of FamilyMart’s Yunlin-Chiayi-Tainan regional operational center, after learning of the large number of adult diapers that the facility needs for its patients.

Lin invited the 61 convenience stores to join the campaign, many of which decided to lead by example by donating a total of 81 packages of diapers to the institution on Tuesday.

Chang Hsiao-jung (張曉蓉), director of the foundation’s Douliou Branch, said adult diapers and milk powder accounted for the largest percentage of the facility’s operating costs, as each patient needs a diaper change every two to three hours, or about 12 times a day.

“The number of people in a vegetative state at the [Douliou] branch is expected to reach 30 by the end of this year, which means it needs about 130,000 diapers per year,” Chang said.

The facility also needs an average of three cans of milk powder per day, or more than 1,000 cans per year, Chang added.